Keyword Search

Letter written by Rush P. Cady, lieutenant in the 97th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Company K,

Primary tabs

Letter written by Rush P. Cady, lieutenant in the 97th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Company K (no date, some pages missing)

PAGE IMAGE 5 into Deleware (Delaware) (Delaware)
. The climate was evidently quite different from that of New-York (New York) (New York)
; the season about corresponding to ours a month later, or even more. The people said it was one of their cold snaps. The appearance of the Country betokened slavery. Here & there white houses, (which by the way, were very plain, built of boards & whitewashed) dotted the country, & in their vicinity, negro quarters, which were were shanties. We saw the negroes all along, on our way, riding mules, driving teams, & engaged in other work; as they saw us they would waving their arms & make other demonstrations. At Perryville (Perryville, Maryland)
, about a mile from Havre de Grace (Havre de Grace, Maryland)
, there were three Reg't's encamped,- two of them formerly the
Ira
Harris (Harris, Ira (Senator, New York)) Guards Cavalry (Ira Harris Guards Cavalry) (of N.Y. (New York) (New York)
) now the 6th (6th Cavalry, New York) & 14th N.Y. Cavalry (14th Cavalry, New York). We saw & talked with some of them, as we stopped there some time. No village at all, was to be seen, atPerryville (Perryville, Maryland)
. We there crossed the Susquehanna (Susquehanna River) ,PAGE IMAGE by ferry, to Havre de Grace, Maryland (Havre de Grace, Maryland)
.Havre de Grace (Havre de Grace, Maryland)
is only a small village, composed of only ordinary (indeed not so good
as that) wood & brick houses. A whole Reg. was guard- ing the R.R. from Havre de Grace (Havre de Grace, Maryland)
to Baltimore (Baltimore, Maryland)
, companies being stationed here & there along the route. The country had quite a picturesque appearance, with it streams & inlets here & there, its woodlands & fields, & especially the graceful & symmetrical cedars, which were abundant everywhere, constituting a characteristic feature. But, although the country presented so attractive an appearance in the points I have named, there were a great many swamps, a large proportion of woodland, the soilclayey (clay) & unfertile. Indeed there were no signs of prosperity,- no thriving villages or comfortable looking farm-houses; but on the contrary everything had an impoverished look. We arrived atPAGE IMAGEBaltimore (Baltimore, Maryland)
about 4 o'c. P.M. Before ar- riving at Baltimore (Baltimore, Maryland)
, the Col. gave orders for the men to have everything in readiness, & bayonets fixed, & as soon as the train should stop to get out of the cars quietly & fall into column. The contrast betweenNew-York (New York) (New York)
, Philadelphia (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
& other places thro' which we passed, & Baltimore (Baltimore, Maryland)
, was indeed most striking. There was an entire absence of enthusiasm. Tis true, that flags were flying in every direction, women & children waved hands & hand- kerchiefs, but a very few men made any demonstrations whatever. Every- thing was entirely mechanical. It appeared as if all their demonstrations of loyalty, were compulsory, or prompted by motives of policy. There was no noise, & little or no talking in the ranks, nothing to be heard but the music of the band, the martial tread of the men, & the sharp, distinct commands of the officers.PAGE IMAGE [written in margins: Aug –] And the spectators apparently looked on in grim & sullen silence;- not a shout or cheer was anywhere heard. You can imagine what reflections would naturally arise in such circumstances as these.- We left Baltimore (Baltimore, Maryland)
a little before dark Thursday en route for Washington (Washington, District of Columbia)
,- distance about 36 miles. The cars for the men were no better, if as good, as those on the Camden (Camden, New Jersey)
& Amboy (Amboy, New Jersey)
R.R. (Camden and Amboy Rail Road) about which all complained
so bitterly. The car for officers & ladies was com- paratively comfortable.- We reached Washington (Washington, District of Columbia)
between 9 & 10 o'c, & soon partook of supper pro- vided. It took some time to get the men to bed (about 850) They slept on the floor, with noth- ing but their blankets for covering, & knapsacks for pillows, with their Rifles & equipments by their side. It rained very hard during the evening & was quite cool.- The Col. Capt.
P. (P. (Captain)) Lieut.
W. (W. (Lieutenant)) & three officers, myself included, tramped thro' mud & water, by the Capitol, up Pennsylvania Avenue to the Clay House, where we succeeded in getting beds, which were a great luxury, in our fatigued condition. The next morning was comparatively pleasant. I met quite a no. of friends in the city. Among them Lieut.
Perkins (Perkins (Lieutenant)) , Lieut.
Howell (Howell (Lieutenant)) (both Coll. boys) & also made the acquaintance of Lieut.
Ritchie (Ritchie (Lieutenant)) of the Empire Battery (Empire Battery) & we were immediately ordered to occupy the Barracks of the 5th Cavalry (5th Cavalry) (Regulars) and
Meridian
Hill (Meridian Hill, Washington, District of Columbia) . And here we came on Friday, through the mud, which was perfectly awful. Noth'g like it in N.Y. (New York) (New York)
State. I would like to tell you about our experiences here, but time for vids. We have been ordered to day (Monday) to occupy the CorcoranCorcoran, Washington, District of Columbia, about 4 miles from Washington (Washington, District of Columbia)
, across the Potomac (Potomac River) .
Affectionately your Son Rush
P.
Cady (Cady, Rush Palmer (Lieutenant)) .